The Indian Festivals

 

         Festivals are very important in our lives.  They create excitement and confidence in our lives.  Also, they bring joy and change into our lives.  That is why they are so important in our lives.
  It would not be wrong to call our India a country of festivals and festivities.  Because all the festivals celebrated in our country are rarely celebrated in any other country.  India is a country of unity in diversity.  It is also seen on the occasion of the festival.  There are many festivals in our country which people celebrate with great enthusiasm.
  That is why today we bring you a list of the most popular and special festivals celebrated in India. 

1) Dussehra – Vijayadashami 

Dussehra or Vijayadashami or Ordnance-worship is a major festival of Hindus.  The festival of Vijayadashami is celebrated with great pomp on Ashwin Shukla Dashami.  This festival is a worshiper of valor, a heroic worshiper of Indian culture.  The celebration of Dussehra has been kept so that heroism is manifested in the blood of the individual and society. Lord Rama killed Ravana on this day.  It is celebrated as the victory of truth over untruth.  That is why this Dashami is known as Vijayadashami. On this day, people start a new work, arms-worship is done.
  Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami is celebrated on the tenth day after Navratri.  Rama killed Ravana on this day.  Ravana kidnapped goddess Sita, wife of Lord Rama, and took her to Lanka.  Lord Rama was a devotee of Goddess Durga, the goddess of war, she worshiped Mother Durga for the first nine days during the war and killed the evil Ravana on the tenth day.  Hence Vijayadashami is a very important day.  This festival is called 'Vijayadashami' as a symbol of Rama's victory.
Ramlila is also organized at this time.  A huge effigy of Ravana is made and lit.  Dussehra or Vijayadashami should be celebrated as the victory of Lord Rama or as Durga Puja, in both the forms it is a festival of Shakti-puja, Shastra Pujan, Harsh, Ullas and Vijay.  Ravana slaughter is performed in Ramlila.
 On this day, Kshatriyas worship arms.  On this day effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad are burnt.  The artists take the form of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and kill these effigies with fire arrows which are filled with firecrackers.  As soon as the effigy is set on fire, it starts burning in the fire and the firecrackers in it start bursting and it ends.  This festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil. 

2) Deepawali

The people of Hinduism wait very eagerly for this special festival of Diwali.  It is the most important and favorite festival of everyone from children to elders.  Diwali is the most important and famous festival of India.  Which is celebrated every year simultaneously throughout the country.  After defeating Ravana, Lord Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya after a long period of 14 years of exile.  People still celebrate this day very enthusiastically.  On the day of Lord Rama's return, the people of Ayodhya had illuminated their homes and routes to welcome their Lord with great enthusiasm.  It is a sacred Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of good over evil.  It is also celebrated by the Sikhs by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to commemorate the release of his 6th Guru, Shri Hargobind Ji from the Gwalior Jail.

 On this day the markets are decorated with lights like a bride to make it look like a wonderful festival.  
On this day the market is crowded, especially the sweet shops.  Children get new clothes, crackers, sweets, gifts, candles and toys from the market.  People clean their houses and decorate them with lights a few days before the festival.  According to Hindu calendar, people worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha after sunset.  They pray to God and Goddess for more blessings, health, wealth and a bright future.  They make delicious dishes of food items and sweets on all five days of the Diwali festival.  People play dice, card games and many other types of games on this day.  They get close to good activities and overcome bad habits.

 The first day is known as Dhanteras or Dhantravaradashi which is celebrated by worshiping Goddess Lakshmi.  People sing aarti, devotional songs and mantras to please the Goddess.  The second day is known as Naraka Chaturdashi or Chhoti Diwali which is celebrated by worshiping Lord Krishna as he killed the demon king Narakasura.  The third day is known as Main Diwali Day which is celebrated in the evening by worshiping Goddess Lakshmi, distributing sweets and gifts among relatives, friends, neighbors and the burning fire crackers.  Worshiping Lord Krishna on the fourth day is known as Govardhan Puja.  People worship cow dung at their door.  The fifth day known as Yama Dwitiya or Bhai Dauj is celebrated by brothers and sisters.  The sisters invite their brothers to celebrate the festival of Bhai Dauj.
           festival of Diwali is celebrated with much fanfare not only in India but in many other countries. 

3) Christmas

The word Christmas is derived from the word Christmas or Christ's Mass.  It is estimated that the first Christmas was celebrated in Rome in 336 AD.  It is celebrated on 25 December all over the world to commemorate the birth day of Jesus Christ, the son of God, it is one of the most important festivals of Christians.  This day is a public holiday in India and most other countries
 According to the New Testament regarding the birth of Christ is a widely accepted Christian legend.  According to this legend, the Lord sent an angel named Gabriel to a virgin girl named Mary.  Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to a son of God and the child will be named Jesus.  He will grow up to be a king, and his kingdom will have no boundaries.
 The angel Gabriel also went to Joseph and told him that Mary would give birth to a child, and advised him to take care of Mary and not abandon her.  The night Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph were on their way to Bethlehem to register their names according to the rules in force at the time.  He takes refuge in a stable, where Mary gives birth to Jesus in the middle of the night and lays him in a trance.  Thus Jesus son of God was born.
During Christmas, people sing carols in praise of the Lord.  They go from house to house, giving the message of love and fodder.

 The Christmas tree is popular all over the world for its splendor.  People decorate their houses with trees and hang mists in every corner.  After the Church Mass, people visit each other's house in a friendly manner and feast and give each other good wishes and gifts.  They spread the message of peace and brotherhood. 

4) Krishna Janmashtami

The day of the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great pomp.  Janmashtami festival is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Krishna, which is celebrated on the Ashtami date of Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapada month after Rakshabandhan.
 Sri Krishna was the 8th son of Devaki and Vasudeva.  The king of the city of Mathura was Kansa, who was very tyrannical.  His atrocities were increasing day by day.  There was a time that the 8th son of his sister Devaki would kill him.  Hearing this, Kansa put her sister Devaki in a dungeon with her husband Vasudev.  Kansa kills 7 children before Devaki's Krishna.  When Devaki gave birth to Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu ordered Vasudeva to bring Shri Krishna to Yashoda Mata and Nanda Baba in Gokul, where he would be safe from his maternal uncle Kansa.  Shri Krishna was raised under the supervision of Yashoda Mata and Nanda Baba.  Just, in the joy of his birth, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated every year since then.
Temples are specially decorated on the day of Sri Krishna Janmashtami.  On Janmashtami, there is a law of fasting for the whole day.  On Janmashtami, everyone observes fast till 12 noon.  On this day, tableaux are decorated in the temples and Lord Krishna is seen swinging and Raslila is organized.
 On the day of Janmashtami, Dahi-Handi competition is organized in many places in the country.  Bal-Govinda of all places participate in the Dahi-Handi competition.  A matki filled with buttermilk, curd etc. is hung in the sky and an attempt is made to break the pot by the hair-Govinda.  In the Dahi-Handi competition, the winning team is given appropriate prizes.  The winning team which succeeds in breaking the matki deserves the reward.
 There is a law to observe fast on Janmashtami.  Fruits should be done according to your ability.  No god tells us to stay hungry, so fast according to your faith.  Do not eat anything during fast for the whole day can have a bad effect on your health.  That is why we should adopt Shri Krishna's message in our lives.

5) Navratri

Navaratri has a special place in the festivals and festivals celebrated in Indian Hindu society.  Navratri is the festival of the worship of Shakti.  Shakti creates the world, Shakti governs it, Shakti destroys it.
 Thus power is everything.  Shakti is the active state of Brahma.  The name of the action of Brahma is power.  Just as heat is completely integral to fire, similarly Brahma is integral with power.  Maya, Mahamaya etc. are synonymous with Shakti.  Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati and Mahakali are the three expressed forms of Shakti. These expressed forms of Shakti are worshiped on Navratri festival.  In our country, Navratri festival is celebrated two times in a year.  The first festival of Navratri is celebrated in the month of Chaitra.  It starts with Chaitra Shukla Pratipada.  Hindu people do the Durga recitation either by establishing an urn in their homes or get it done by their clan priest.
 They make eight days of fruiting.  The festival of Durgashtami is celebrated on the eighth day.  Havan etc. is to be done after Durga recitation.  Ram Navami is celebrated on the ninth day.  On this date, Lord Rama was born from the womb of Mother Kaushalya.  On this day, people observe fasts and perform fruits.
Many types of entertaining programs are organized and the whole tone of Bengal is elicited by the melodious sound of bhajan-kirtan and various types of instruments.  There are crowds of spectators and worshipers day and night.  Bengali women and men and children and old people look cheerful in new colorful clothes.  They meet each other and express their best wishes.
 The Mahakali temple in Kolkata has a special look.  Devotees come from far and wide to see Mahakali.  For eight days, every Bengali is so devoted to Durga-Pooja programs that he does not know anything about the outside world.  Havan is done on Ashtami.  On Dashami, big idols of Durgaji are ceremonially taken out with instruments and immersion in holy water.
 The festival of Navratri teaches us - 'Try, make effort, work hard, do meditation and open the store of power within you.  There is such a power in you that you can do everything you want with the help of it. 

6) Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the biggest festivals in India.  It is believed that Lord Ganesha was born on this day.  The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is mainly a Hindu festival, but now people of all religions celebrate this festival with great fanfare.  Preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi are started a few days in advance.  On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, people bring and install the Ganesha idol in their homes and temples by decorating and singing and dancing.  People clean and decorate their homes and temples.  From Ganesh Chaturthi to next 10 days, Lord Ganesha is worshiped, devotional songs are sung, Modak is offered, different dishes are made, Bhandare is also organized in temples.
 The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in the months of August and September.  According to the Hindu calendar, this festival is held in the month of Bhadra.  After completing 10 days of Ganesh Utsav, preparations for Ganesh Visarjan are also done with great pomp on the 11th day.  A beautiful chariot is made for Ganesh immersion and decorated with colorful flowers.  After which the Lord Ganesha is performed and his idol is placed in a chariot.  A procession is then carried out throughout the city.  In the Ganesh procession, people wave gulal, burn firecrackers, shout slogans of Ganapatti Bappa Moriya, Mangal Murti Moriya.  Nowadays people are also playing DJs.  In Akhiri, the idol of Lord Ganesha is immersed in a pond, river or sea. 

7) Holi Festival

Holi is such a colorful festival, which people of every religion celebrate with full enthusiasm and fun.  This festival decorated with love-filled colors gives the message of brotherhood, opening the bonds of every religion, sect, caste.  On this day, all the people forget their old grievances and embrace and enslave a couple.  Children and youth play with colors.  This festival is celebrated on the full moon of Phalgun month.  Many stories are associated with Holi.  Holi is lit one night before celebrating Holi.  There is a popular legend behind it.
Devotee Prahlada's father Hariyanyakaship considered himself a god.  He was opposed to Vishnu while Prahlada was a devotee of Vishnu.  He prevented Prahlada from doing Vishnu bhakti and when he did not agree, he tried to kill Prahlada.
Prahlad's father finally sought help from his sister Holika.  Holika had the blessing of not burning in the fire.  Holika agreed to assist her brother.  Holika sat in the pyre with Prahlad, but Prahlad was protected by the grace of Vishnu and Holika was consumed by burning.
 This story indicates that good must prevail over evil.  Even today, on the full moon day, Holi is lit, and on the next day everyone puts gulal, abir and different colors on each other.  This festival is a festival of colors.
On this day, people wake up in the morning and go to the homes of their relatives and friends with colors and play Holi with them fiercely.  This festival holds special significance for children.  He brings various types of squirrels and balloons from the market to him one day in advance.  Children enjoy Holi with their friends with balloons and squirrels.
            Holi of Braj, Holi of Mathura, Holi of Vrindavan, Holi of Barsane, Holi of Kashi are famous all over India. 

8) Eid El -Fitr

Eid is considered a very happy day in Islam.  On the day of Eid, the people not only ask Allah for forgiveness of their sins, but they also pray to Allah for themselves and those close to them.  Eid is celebrated twice in an Islamic calendar.  Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.
            The day of Eid-ul-Fitr comes after the holy month of Ramadan, when all people pray to Allah after fasting Ramadan for the whole month.  This is followed by the month of Shawwal and Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10th of Zul Hajj in the last year of the Islamic calendar.  On this day the Hajj of Haji Hazrat ends and people all over the world offer sacrifices.
            According to the Shari'a, the sacrifice is valid for every woman and man who has 13 thousand rupees or equal to gold and silver or all three (rupee, gold and silver) is also equal to 13 thousand rupees. Both Eid has great importance according to the Shariah as well as Eid also increases social brotherhood.  Muslims all over the world especially greet people of other faith, Eid. A feature of the day of Eid is also that the people of the city offer a special namaz for which they gather at one place in the city, it is called 'Eidgah'.  After this namaz, everyone embraces and congratulates each other.  The joy of Eid can be seen especially in children.
Eid, the festival of Muslims, is basically a festival promoting brotherhood.  Everyone celebrates this festival together and asks God for blessings, happiness and peace.  The joy of Eid is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over the India.